Calm Before The Storm {Finnick Odair}

Comfort

Hebe took a deep breath as she walked towards the front of the stage in District 2, once again ignoring the faces on those boards.

The Mayor had a slight shake in his voice as he introduced her, and Hebe knew exactly how he felt. His daughter was one of the tributes, the one that haunted Hebe every night when she tried to close her eyes.

She hadn't bothered taking Ambrosia's cards this time, and whilst she had seemed insulted at first, Mags had given her a look that told her to trust her tribute. Unfortunately, it meant she had nothing to do with her hands to stop them from shaking. She firmly laced them in front of her and scanned the crowds.

It was a strange mixture of emotions this time. Not like in District 3 where they had all hated her, but not like in District 11 where they loved her. Instead, it was roughly split between sympathy, anger, and apathy.

Hebe cleared her throat, before beginning to speak.

"Hello. My name is Hebe Cross, and I'm here today to apologise to you all," She looked at the faces once again, this time they all had the same expression. Confusion. This is not how the speeches were supposed to start.

"I want to apologise for killing your son, Icarus. I- I know it may not seem like it from the footage, but it is something I have come to regret doing. It was not a matter of survival, it was about callous revenge, and I'm sorry that he didn't make it."

Hebe looked down at her hands almost to simulate the turning of a cue card. It was taking all of her mental effort to not fully open the box in her mind holding the memory of Gaia. She was just trying to crack it open slightly, take a small peak inside, and then close it back up again.

"As for... as for Gaia," Her voice cracked, but she continued, "I also want to apologise. I'm sorry I couldn't protect her. I tried. I really did. If I could go back..." Her eyes wandered over to the woman who stood beneath Gaia's picture, and she could just make out the tears in her eyes.

"If I could go back, I'd try harder. I'd protect her until the end, and then I'd let her take my place, so she was standing here instead of me. Because she didn't deserve what happened to her. She was a beautiful, kind, intelligent soul, and she deserved so much better than what she got," Tears began to well in her own eyes, but Hebe kept pushing forwards through the speech.

"She had so much potential, and she would've grown to become a brilliant person. And I'm sorry that I couldn't save her, and I wish I could've watched her grow up." Hebe looked down at her shoes, quickly wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Thank you." She finished, not bothering this time with the country's motto, before walking back to her spot on the stage.

The entire square was silent, as they watched her walk away, until, slowly, they began to clap. It started off as just a few of them, and then it progressed until the entire square was filled with uproarious applause.

The Mayor, Gaia's own father, was just as stunned, and Hebe could spot him wiping away his own tears, before hesitantly continuing the ceremony, picking up the plaque and carrying it over to her.

He handed it over to her, his hands trembling all the while. She looked at the man sadly.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She whispered as he passed over the heavy piece of stone.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." The man replied softly, before masking his devastation with a grin for the cameras, Hebe doing the same.

*

She awoke that night screaming. Sobbing. Sweating. Shaking.

Hebe glanced around her, half expecting to see the marshlands of the swamp from her arena, to feel the twigs digging into her back, or to hear the sound of the Capitol anthem.